5 everyday disasters that will destroy your data

By: ARRC

November 16, 2015

Data backup is important, which I’m sure you’ve heard before. You know the spiel… What happens if there’s a tornado or snow storm and your hardware is completely destroyed? How are you supposed to recover your data if you ever expect to regain operational status?

But here in Kern County, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. The only thing we’re worried about is not having enough water. At this point, a massive flooding would be welcomed with open arms. And if there is an earthquake, we’ll end up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, right? Our data will be the last thing we think about.

So does that mean you don’t have to worry about data backup? Since we aren’t normally prone to destructive natural disasters are you immune to data disasters altogether?

Not exactly. You see, there’s such a thing as an everyday disaster and these bad boys will destroy your data faster, better, and more times than a tornado, earthquake, or fire ever could.

Power Failure

If a power failure occurs in your building, the potential for hardware malfunctions and corrupted files is pretty high. Say you’re working on a very important presentation and the power shuts down. A few minutes later when the power kicks back on you attempt to work on your presentation again. But, for some reason, every time you try to open up your files you’re greeted with an error message. Instead of being able to recover all that work, you have to start from scratch, losing time, money, and productivity.

Spilled Liquid

If you’re going to drink coffee, water, soda, or any other liquid while you’re around hardware, you’re playing a very risky game. With sugary drinks especially, liquid can corrode your critical hardware components and corrupt the data it contains.

The Wrong Button

This category contains the, “Whoops. Did I just do that?” and the, “I’m so frustrated I’m going to pound on my keyboard for a few seconds.” And, unfortunately, accidentally deleting items is far more common than you may think. There are ways to permanently delete files from your server and even ways to delete system files that allow your PC to function properly. When this happens, the only way you can recover files or fix your workstation is if you have the backup solution that allows you to do so.

Vindictive Employees

Usually, when someone is fired, it isn’t something they necessarily want to happen. And, many times, the anger and contempt the freshly unemployed have for you and your business can boil over to instigate vindictive acts. If they can find a way to access your database, they can do some serious damage; damage that can be expensive, embarrassing, and highly destructive to your data.

Common Malware

If you don’t have the best security or the most private employees, malware and hackers can easily slip into your network. Once they’re inside, they can steal, corrupt, or encrypt your data—all of which is expensive and extremely difficult to recover without a comprehensive backup and recovery solution. For example, Cryptolocker is an extremely rampant virus at the moment. This nasty malware will encrypt your files and force you to pay for a decryption code. And the delivery of the code after payment is never a guarantee.